Garcia Ordonez

Garcia Ordonez (died 29 May 1108) was the ruler of La Rioja (from Najera) in the Kingdom of Castile during the Reconquista.

Biography
Garcia Ordonez was a magnate of the Kingdom of Castile who ruled the La Rioja region from the city of Najera, and he was the great-grandson of King Ramiro III of Leon and Bermudo II of Leon. He married a daughter of Garcia Sanchez III of Navarre, the sister of Sancho IV of Navarre, cementing his connection to royalty in Spain. Garcia served King Fernando I of Leon as one of his loyal magnates, and he was sent to demand that Rodrigo Diaz de Vivar hand over the captured emirs al-Kadir and Yusuf al-Mu'taman ibn Hud for execution in Burgos; when Rodrigo set them free after they swore never to attack King Fernnado again, Garcia informed Rodrigo that he would be tried for treason. His rivalry with El Cid culminated in a duel between Rodrigo and Count Gormaz, the king's champion, and Gormaz was slain in the duel. Ordonez and Gormaz's daughter Ximena plotted to kill Rodrigo, but the attempt failed due to the intervention of Yusuf al-Mu'taman ibn Hud, and Garcia was later forced to ally with Rodrigo during the Siege of Valencia in 1099, patching up relations with him. Rodrigo died in battle, but the siege was lifted. In 1108, Garcia himself would be slain alongside King Alfonso VI of Castile's son Sancho Alfonsez by the Almoravids at the Battle of Ucles.